After weeks of speculation, quarterback Aaron Rodgers addressed his NFL future Thursday. While Rodgers didn’t confirm whether or not he intends to sign with the Pittsburgh Steelers, the quarterback’s update revealed why his free agency has lasted so long.
Rodgers made an appearance on the program he appears on the most — ESPN’s The Pat McAfee Show — to correct what he referred to as “a lot of bull****.”
“I’ll set it all straight … I’m in a different phase of my life. I’m 41 years old; I’m in a serious relationship,” Rodgers said during Thursday’s episode. “I have off-the-field stuff going on that requires my attention, and I have a couple people in my inner inner circle who are battling some quite difficult stuff.
Rodgers continued: “To make a commitment to a team, is a big thing. Whether you’re a first-year player or 20-year vet. I had a lot of great conversations with a lot of teams.”
The quarterback then addressed the Steelers specifically, saying he’s been “very up front” with the organization and that he’s talked to head coach Mike Tomlin “many times.”
Rodgers added that the team has not given him a deadline to make a free agency decision.
Aaron Rodgers Has ‘Nothing But Love And Respect’ For Steelers
Speculation has run rampant between Rodgers and the Steelers over the last month. The quarterback visited the team’s facility on March 21. Then NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo reported Rodgers and new Steelers receiver D.K. Metcalf had a throwing session during the final weekend of March.
But Rodgers suggested the rumors that those events led to weren’t of his doing, and that he remains entitled to his own decision timeline.
“This entire time, I haven’t felt like I owed anybody some sort of decision at any point,” Rodgers told McAfee. “This is my life. Things are different now. My life is different; my personal life is different.
“I’ve been up front with them about that and said, ‘If you need to move on, if you need to do something, by all means. Nothing but love and respect if that’s the decision that needs to be made.’ But there’s been no deadline.”
That echos what Tomlin told reporters at the NFL’s annual spring meetings on March 30.
“I don’t know that we’ve approached it from a deadline perspective,” Tomlin told reporters, via ESPN’s Brooke Pryor. “Certainly, as I mentioned, you’d like to have settled circumstances, but deadlines don’t often bring that to a head.”
To emphasize that his personal life is what’s causing the delay in his NFL decision, Rodgers told McAfee that money is not a factor in his decision. Rodgers added that he would play for $10 million in 2025.
At one point this offseason, Pro Football Talk’s Mike Florio argued his “educated guess” for the contract Rodgers was seeking this offseason was a two-year, $90 million deal.
What’s Next for Rodgers, Steelers?
Part of Steelers Nation could be relieved to hear Rodgers’ remarks Thursday. Not that fans are thrilled Rodgers is dealing with personal issues but that the quarterback is not waiting for a better opportunity or more money before signing with Pittsburgh.
But Steelers fans hoping for a resolution from Rodgers on Thursday didn’t get one.
The quarterback will clearly continue to exercise his right to be patient with his future decision. It’s the Steelers’ choice whether or not to wait around to see if Rodgers wants to play football again.
Through the first month of free agency, the Steelers have had no issue waiting. The team signed Mason Rudolph is free agency but allowed their other three quarterbacks to sign with other teams.
Rudolph and Skylar Thompson are the only signal-callers Pittsburgh has on its roster.
The Steelers could add a quarterback in the 2025 NFL Draft next week. But it sounds as though the team will have to decide whether or not to do that without first having a decision from Rodgers.
